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Monday, April 22, 2013

Run one for Boston, and help out a good cause!

Saturday was significant for many reasons. One, was for the cause I was running for. Many of my ultra-friends ran three marathons back-to-back this weekend, or will be sometime this week. They put in 78.6 miles each, or one marathon for each of the 3 victims who died at the tragic bombing of the 2013 Boston marathon.

Why was this significant when their are bombing, killings, and terrorists attacks everyday all over the world? Well for one, runners are loyal to each other, and distance runners support each other as family. So it seems natural that the running community would band together to help out the family of Richard Martin, the 8-year old boy who was killed while watching his father finish the Boston marathon.

But for me this marathon was doubly significant. Since having some major setbacks with being diagnosed with POTS in 2010, and having major life events and moves, and then a hysterectomy in February of 2012, this was a breakthrough for my running recovery.

The last successful marathon or greater distance I have run was running 50 miles of the Buffalo 100 miler starting at Yellowstone National Park, running near the Grand Tetons and ending in Driggs, Idaho in October 2011. At that time my running was starting to come back to more normal, but still not quite there and we had just moved to an apartment in Springville and broken ground on our new home in Springville, Utah.

A few months after that among starting a midwifery school, moving into our new home, and other major life changes I had a hysterectomy. That surgery left me barely able to run as it took my muscles per 8 months to be able to show some speed! It really weakened my core and upper body. It was a frustrating and demotivating 8 months and I was feeling pretty discouraged about my running life.

Many other great things have happened during that recovery time, but I put on about 25 lbs after my surgery and then decided to sign up for a fitness challenge with Lisa Smith-Batchen and Julie Bryan because I needed a coach coming into my email box to remind me to get moving and to stop focusing on how out of shape I was feeling. Tandi Ogden Suitter, my mean trainer has kept on top of me, and suddenly things began working again. Then I started a local community ladies fitness group, and helping other people helps me to feel accountable to work on myself.

That helped kick me into gear. Then my sisters Alyssa Workman and Katrina Bishop, got me hooked up on Herbalife. Suddenly I have a ton of energy, where I was dragging all the time before. After committing to run 26.2 on Saturday, and not knowing how my body would handle it since it has been so long since I was in gear I woke up to a downpour of trenchel rain, and on a cold morning begin my race at 3:15 am.

I kept a slow and steady pace, wanting to make sure I finished my first recovery marathon of about an average of 5-4.5mph, for the first 17 miles. And then I had to take a 20 minute break to change my clothes because I was getting hypothermic and ran down to a local 5k keeping about the same pace. After the 5 k with about 4.56 miles to go, I had to take a break to eat breakfast because in all of my excitement to finish I had gone too long without nutrition.

But after two pieces of toast with butter and my mom, Ange' Workman's, homemade Peach/Loganberry Jam, and two eggs. I headed out in the cold again. By this time it had stopped raining and was just overcast. I finished the last 4.56 at a slower 4.5-4mph pace, and then finished.

I was tired from the cold, wet, and early morning, but felt great. I was very surprised when I woke up Sunday morning and had no tightness in my muscles, in fact my hips are looser than before I ran on Saturday! I was not sore, and didn't feel like I had run more than 5 miles! Today I feel like I could run another 26.2! I may, and maybe I will completed 2 more marathons this week for the victims of Boston!

Glad to be back into action and I am feeling hopeful about being able to complete the Squaw Peak 50 on June 2nd, and Wasatch 100 in September!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

On Saturday morning April 20th, 2013 I am getting up at 3am and I am
going to start a 26.2 mile run. I will run 23.1 before 8am, and then
finish with a city sponsored 5K at the Springville Arts park in honor of
those who witnessed and were affected by the horrific bombings of
4/15/13. Many of my friends were their and witnessed it, and I donated
$26.2 dollars to this fund today and committed to run 26.2 miles for
this boy and his family. Consider Joining me even if you only want to
walk the 5K at the end with me, I will have stickers and I am making an
iron on to put on one of my old race shirts to help this family out.
Martin Richards is the 8 year old boy who was killed while watching his
father finish the marathon. His mother is in critical condition, and
requiring brain surgery, and his sister lost her leg. This is being
headed up by a fellow ultra-runner and all of the funds will go directly
to the families funeral and medical expenses. Join my event on facebook
below, or donate directly to the fund with the link below. Or come
watch me finish the 5k at the Art's Park at 8am!

Monday, April 15, 2013

2. My family decided to move from our home in Lindon about a month later and started renovating the Lindon house.

3. We decided to peruse building a home in Springville.

4. We couldn't sell the home in Lindon with the poor economy so we rented it out and moved into a 700 sq foot underground house while our home was under construction.

5. I started an office up in Spanish Fork during that time, and a midwifery school emerged, now known as The Community School of Midwifery.

6. What I had intended to start was a holistic mental health and birth clinic and in order to meet supervision requirements in Utah, had a supervisor who owned Trauma Recovery Center. That situation did not work out, and so I focused on midwifery education my first year out of grad school.

7. During that year I had a hysterectomy, my little sister lost her baby a few weeks after my surgery due to sudden onset pre-eclampsia at 20 weeks, and then we moved again into our new home in Springville.

8. I also attended a midwifery educators conference in Virginia while still recovering.

9. During the summer of 2012, I connected with The Healing Group and found a way to enter the mental health field again, working with the population I love, Mamas! I went to the BEST training amongst the fires of Colorado City, flew to the scorching heat of Las Vegas to attend the Postpartum Support International Conference on Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders where I was privileged to meet my new coworkers at THG and listen to Wendy Davis and Birdie Meyer for two days.

10. Upon returning home it was another office paint and move from Spanish Fork to Springville to establish a presence with THG in Utah County.

11. Learning much from teaching the first year, and knowing that I needed more business professionals in the school I took on Melissa Chappell as a business partner and we officially established the Community School of Midwifery.

12. Now in our second year running we have a home for CSM in Springville as well.

13. Conferences, meet ups with other well-qualified professionals a cross the country, and my practice with THG becoming full in less than 6 months of being established with them we took on two more therapist down at the Springville Office.

Post-surgery recovery really took a tole on my running as did life. So now I am committing to taking some pieces back for my health and wellbeing. After a miserable start at the Wasatch 100 in September 2012, my body and muscles were still too week to push my up fast enough, and I timed out before Francis peak (about 18 miles). I got into the Wasatch again for 2013, and I am making all of the necessary changes and setting boundaries on my time and demands to commit to my health, training, and wellbeing.

I am joining my sisters in supporting their Herbalife business by becoming a consumer of their produces (I am not selling them myself, I don't sell products but if you are interested I can pass your name onto my sisters). I told Claude Grant after jumping in his white truck again for the second time at Francis Peak that I never wanted to see the inside of his white truck again on that course!

And I mean it! This year is lucky 13, and Wasatch is my big obstacle of my stubborn endurance and I will conquer! Follow me to see my commitment to conquering the beast of The Wasatch 100, 2013! Also registered for Squaw Peak 50, and hoping for my 3rd finish for Squaw Peak, and Kachina Mosa 100 K driving for a finish!